


I Guess We're All Seeing Things

by Fire_Remorros



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dreams vs. Reality, Gen, Hallucinations, M/M, Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-22
Updated: 2013-06-29
Packaged: 2017-12-15 18:12:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Remorros/pseuds/Fire_Remorros
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Castiel took all of Sam's memories from Hell away, he took the hallucinations of Lucifer away as well, and Sam did not miss them one bit. However, a few months later, Sam spotted Lucifer once more. And again. And again. But he wasn't the only one. And Lucifer wasn't the only angel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sammy, I'm Ho-ome

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so I'm sorry this starts out a little slow, but it'll get faster later, I promise. Thanks for your time if you choose to read this! And by the way- probably no slash. Not particularly comfortable writing it.

            The hallucinations had plagued him ever since his shredded soul had returned to his body. At best, they gave him annoying, somewhat useful company. Other times, it did nothing but serve as a reminder of the centuries he had spent trapped in the company of two powerful, feuding archangels.

            _At least only I can see them_ , Sam always reminded himself, every time the hallucination of Lucifer would pull something alarming, be it the lever for an actual alarm, or running various objects through Dean or Bobby.

            When he and Dean had returned to close a seemingly unfinished case, in a moment of desperation, Sam had told Lucifer to shut up.

            The second he had heard him say, disbelievingly, “He said ‘shut up’ to me”, he instantly regretted it, and could only desperately pray that he wouldn’t change anything. For the rest of the case, there was no difference, he only followed him, pointing out details, giving him a push in the right direction to find Dean. His hope soared. For that time, it seemed like Lucifer was nothing but a form given to his own thought process.

            However, a moment before he was struck over the head, he realized Lucifer had said nothing, and that was when his wariness took over yet again.

            At the end of the case, he and Dean returned to the moderately nice motel room. Sam opened the door, and Dean shoved past him to collapse, exhausted, on the bed. After a brief, probably unnecessary recount of what had happened, Dean nodded off, and Sam went to roll over onto his bed as well.

            “No naps for Sammy,” Lucifer appeared beside him, grinning. “Come on now…”

            That was when the nightmares flooded into his real life. It tormented him, put him in an insane asylum, until Castiel took all of hell from Sam’s mind.

            Sam’s immense guilt washed over him every time he thought about it. He froze, midway through handing a cashier some money for his and Dean’s meal. Someone was standing behind her, giving him a little wave with a crooked grin before he disappeared.

            “Sir?” The cashier gave him an uneasy smile. She had been flirting with him just a moment before, but now, Sam was pretty sure she was reconsidering.

            “Sorry, I zoned off,” He put a sheepish expression on, and her face cleared, fixing him with a bright smile once more.

            “Happens to all of us. Here’s your change,” She handed him the pile of coins in the receipt, which, he noted with some regret, that she had scribbled her number on. It was too bad, he was sure she was a lovely girl, but if he had put all the numbers that they received on receipts, they would have the whole phone book.

            He walked out, forehead wrinkling as his mind flitted from one panicked thought to another.

            _But how…? They’re supposed to be gone!_

_I shouldn’t be able to see him!_

_I thought Cas took it all away!_

Apparently he still held that expression on his face when he got back to Dean, because he frowned at him as he took the proffered burger. “Sam, what’s wrong?”

            “Nothing,” Sam replied automatically. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

            Now _that_ got Dean’s attention. “Yeah, sure, that’s what you said every other time too,” He grumbled. “Are you ever gonna tell me the truth the first time I ask?”

            “I can handle it,” Sam insisted. “I’m not even sure if I saw what I thought I saw.”

            “What did you see?” Dean asked, staring at him intently, burger halfway to his mouth.

            Sam sighed. He didn’t really want to tell him, but let’s face it, every time he hasn’t has turned out disastrous. After a moment of reasoning with himself, he sighed again. “I thought I saw Lucifer.”

            Dean nearly choked. “Y-you what?!” He demanded. “Sammy, how is that not important?!” He looked frustrated now. “You really need to get a normal scale of importance, dude!”

            “I just _thought_ I saw him.” Sam insisted. “I mean, come on, Cas took all the hell out of my memory, so there’s no way he could have been there, right? Maybe it was…I don’t know, a spirit?”

            “A spirit of the Devil? Come on, Sam, they don’t have ghosts, otherwise we’d have seen Gabriel poking his nose everywhere by now.” Sam shifted uncomfortably, Dean snorting incredulously, fixing him with a for-once serious gaze. “We should ask Cas, come on.”

            For a moment, there was silence, before Sam broke it, raising one eyebrow. “Wait, you’re expecting me to call him? Dude, he _never_ answers to me-“

            “I answer when it’s important, Sam,” A whoosh of wings, and Castiel—speak of the Devil—was there himself.

            “Do you just automatically hear everything involving you?” Dean demanded of him.

            “Only when it’s the angels or someone associated with you two.” Castiel replied, not picking up on the sarcasm. He turned to Sam, blue eyes flicking over his face in a quick examination. “What have you seen?”

            Before Sam could protest that it was nothing important, Dean cut in, informing the angel: “Sammy’s seeing Lucifer again!”

            “Jesus, Dean, you sound like a tattle-tale little kid,” Sam groaned, rolling his eyes and noting the weird stares of the people around them. He had almost forgotten they were in a public park. “Uh, guys-“

            “Sam, have you seen him?” Cas whirled to face him, getting uncomfortably in his space bubble.

            Sam took a step back, staring at the ground. “I don’t know,” He answered honestly. “I thought I did. But I looked up again, and he was gone. That just…doesn’t seem like him, y’know?”

            “No, I don’t know,” Dean growled with frustration, jamming his hands into his pocket.

            “Disappearing without comment does seem most unlike him,” Cas agreed, staring at the same spot on the ground Sam was, as if that spot in particular was the source of all their problems.

            Sam looked up at him, startled, and met his gaze. He realized then that he didn’t know if Cas had actually seen the same thing as him when he was holding onto Sam’s Hell.

            “I’m sorry, Cas,” He apologized, despite feeling that that would never amount to much in comparison to what he had put their poor angel friend through.

            Cas tipped his head at him, “For what? I don’t recall you doing anything that requires apology-“

            “Cas, let’s cut to the analyzing shit and see what the hell’s happening to my brother!” Dean interrupted roughly.

            If Cas was annoyed, he didn’t mention it. When Dean was this impatient and demanding, normally he would have protested, but when it involved Sam, it concerned him as well. He reached toward his stomach, intending to check his soul, when Sam cleared his throat.

            Cas looked up. “What?”

            “Cas, we’re in a public place, if people looked and saw you sticking your hand into my stomach, we’d be in some serious-“ Sam broke off as Cas took them to their motel room.

            “Sit down, Sam.” Cas rolled up his sleeve.

            Sam couldn’t feel any more like a patient than he did now. He sat down on the bed, looking up and meeting Dean’s anxious expression. It only stuck for a moment before Dean caught his gaze and fixed his expression into one with less emotion and more gruffness.

            Cas promptly, without warning, shoved his hand into Sam’s stomach, and Sam gritted his teeth, used to the pain that came with Cas’s soul-searching. A few seconds later, Cas withdrew, frowning thoughtfully.

            “Well?” Dean walked up to Cas, staring at him, his anxious gaze returning. “Anything?”

            “I only see the same trace of darkness that has always been there,” Cas said finally. “Nothing more.”

            “So, then I was just imagining things?” Sam asked him, holding his breath.

            “So it would seem.”

            “Dude, you would have been imagining things if you _had_ seen him,” Dean snorted, sinking back into his normal humorous commentary.

            For once, Sam laughed, looking up with a grin, “Yeah, I guess-“ He froze. No, but Cas had just said…

            Lucifer was flopped across Dean’s bed, half upside down and grinning at Sam. “Miss me, Sammy?”

            Sam’s gaze flicked around once, and he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified when he saw Cas’s fearful gaze fixed on Lucifer as well.

            “Guys?” Dean frowned. “What are you looking at?”


	2. And then there were two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And thus, Gabriel sort of doesn't really appear! But what is with this demon organization Sam and Dean found?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting a little better, I hope? I decided I couldn't leave you with just one chapter.  
> I'll update soon!

Even Cas had to sit down, as he and Sam stared at Lucifer in total disbelief.

            “Guys? Guys!” Dean was shouting desperately, shaking them.

            Sam looked up, started. “He’s…here, Dean.”

            “Yes,” Cas agreed quietly, swallowing.

            “Aw, little Cas can see me too?” Lucifer tipped his head, grinning. “This is exciting, isn’t it?”

            Ignoring him, both Cas and Sam fixed their attention on Dean, determined to not give the archangel the attention he was begging for.

            “Is he…doing anything?” Dean asked slowly, recalling that Sam told him Lucifer liked to set things on fire to make him panic.

            “No, he’s just being…irritating.” Castiel said, haltingly.

            “Cas, don’t make your big brother angry,” Lucifer tsked disapprovingly. “Sammy, he’s being mean to me.”

            “Like an annoying dog begging for attention,” Sam growled, thoroughly irritated now that his primary sense of fear had vanished.

            Lucifer clutched his heart, miming pain. “You break my heart, Sammy, really you do.”

            The continued use of Dean’s nickname for him nearly got him to say something, but he pointedly ignored him.

            Dean glanced back and forth between his brother and angel, looking uneasy. “I dunno, maybe it’s…memories? Memories of your hallucinations?”

            “Dean, we are both seeing the same thing, this is not memories,” Cas insisted. “At least, I believe we are.”

            “How many fingers, Sammy?” Lucifer held up three fingers. “Tell Castiel, and I’ll just sit here and watch your mind snap… _again._ ”

            “Three?” Cas queried, turning to look at Sam, who nodded, after a brief hesitation.

            “Son of a bitch,” Dean swore, running his hand through his hair. “Let’s go see Bobby, this is-“

            What it was, exactly, Sam never found out, as the next second, they were standing in front of Bobby’s desk.

            Bobby jerked back, but relaxed. “Y’know it would _help_ ,” He informed them with heavy sarcasm, “If you would drop a line or somethin’ before you start appearing in my house.”

            “Sorry, Bobby, but this is serious,” Dean swerved between Sam and Cas so he was directly in front of their patriarchal figure’s desk.

            “Damn straight, it’s serious. What the hell is that guy doin’ there?” Bobby demanding, nodding at the space behind the hallucinating duo.

            Sam and Cas whirled around at once, eyes meeting briefly in alarm. But there was nobody there.

            “Bobby, what are you talking about?” Sam asked, frowning.

            Bobby raised an eyebrow. “Are you _blind_? There’s a short guy with brown hair standing behind you.”

            “Short guy with brown hair?” Sam exchanged a look with Dean, who promptly buried his face in his hands.

            “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” He groaned. “Am I the only sane one here?”

           “Bobby, who is it?” Sam asked him slowly, trying to think of every short, brown-haired guy he had ever encountered. Then again, every man with brown hair was short to him.

            “Hang on, you idjit, I’ve seen him, I remember…we fought him a while ago and-“ He groaned. “He keeps putting moose antlers over your head, Sam. He’s that damn Trickster.”

            “Gabriel!” Sam breathed, almost wishing he could see him. Anyone was better than Lucifer, who was perched on Bobby’s desk, pouting at him.

            “Sammy, you’re cheating on me already? You never stop breaking my heart.” Lucifer sighed, getting up and jumping on Sam’s back. “I think you should carry me around to make up for it.”

            Sam’s knees buckled at the unexpected weight, and he exchanged a look with Cas of exasperation.

            “Sammy, what happened?” Dean demanded.

            “He jumped on me,” Sam grumbled.

            “Wait, hang on, back up,” Bobby halted, having been trying to get a word in since Sam’s exclamation. “You telling me that the Trickster is the _archangel_ Gabriel?”

            “Yeah, and the Norse god Loki and other shit,” Dean rolled his eyes. “He left his farewell to us in a porno that we most definitely did _not_ need to see.”

            “One of those Casa Erotica movies,” Sam recalled, groaning into his hands. His and Dean’s memories were forever scarred.

            “More importantly, why the hell are you guys seeing them?” Dean was, for once, the one drawing them back on topic.

            “I don’t know,” Sam admitted, shifting uncomfortably as Lucifer dug his elbows into Sam’s shoulders. “I thought it was just something to do with me and Cas seeing so much of him-“

            “Bunk buddy, I just wanted to come back to the surface, no big deal,” Lucifer crooned, leaning on top of Sam’s head.

            “But Bobby? You’re seeing Gabriel?”

            Bobby nodded, peering at the space behind them with one eyebrow raised. “Yeah, and he doesn’t look very happy with you.”

            “You can’t hear him?” Cas asked, ending his temporary silence.

            “He’s not saying anything.” Bobby shrugged.

            “Yeah, definitely something wrong there, he never shuts up,” Dean commented, and almost immediately, a book fell off the shelf above him to hit him on the head. “Ow!” He cursed for a good minute afterwards, rubbing his head. “You sure they’re not spirits?”

            “Dean, angels don’t have souls, there is absolutely no way they could be spirits,” Castiel insisted.

            “But we’re _archangels,_ doesn’t that make us special in some way?” Lucifer leaned on him, smiling at Cas lazily. “Come on, Castiel, use that nice little rebellious mind of yours for some thinking, hm?”

            “It doesn’t have something to do with them being archangels, right?” Sam asked Cas uneasily.

            “It’s a possibility,” Cas agreed. “I’ll look into it.” He was gone in the blink of an eye with a flutter of wings.

            “Dammit, Cas! He left my baby in upstate New York!” Dean swore, glaring at the ceiling like Cas was still there.

            “Were you workin’ a case up there?” Bobby asked.

            “Just finished, actually,” Sam replied, shifting. “It was weird, though. No Leviathan there, but it was some weird system with demons. A society, I guess.”

            “A demon _society_?” Lucifer and Bobby said at almost the same time.

            “Come on, Sammy, demons aren’t that organized, there’s got to be someone there,” Lucifer knocked on his head.

            “There’s gotta be someone behind that,” Bobby said a moment after. “No way those demons are gonna work together for shit.”

            “We know, Bobby,” Dean grumbled, pushing himself off the chair he was leaning on. “We interrogated them, but they refused to say shit, other than ‘He gave us promises!’, over and over and over again.”

            “What the hell?” Bobby demanded.

            “Yeah, that’s what I’d like to know,” Sam muttered as Lucifer happily tapped out Led Zeppelin drum beats on his head.


	3. How are things looking, Dean?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Figured we oughta take a moment to see how Dean's seeing everything.  
> Everyone's seeing things but him, so does that make him insane, or them?

Dean could tell you- being with a bunch of people hallucinating like they were on a bad acid trip was no fun at all. There were glares being shot all around the confined space of the borrowed cat, and when Bobby had decided to stay home for a case, apparently Gabriel did not agree, as books started flying around the room, like the archangel was throwing a temper tantrum. 

Upon actually getting in the car, Cas had scooted over all the way to one side in the back, and Bobby on the other side, making room for Lucifer and Gabriel.

“Why the hell don’t you just make sure they can’t sit there?” Dean asked them, groaning. He turned around and to his surprise, and immense uneasiness, that the folds in Cas’s clothes had changed, like there was something pressed against it.

“There isn’t a lot of room in here, Dean,” Bobby said dryly. “And no offense, but I don’t want to be a car seat for a Trickster.”

“Yes, Lucifer isn’t the most…delightful company,” Cas said haltingly. “I’m sincerely glad it’s usually Sam that he bothers.”

“Gee, thanks, Cas,” Sam grumbled. Being next to Dean, he was safe from both archangels.

“Was I supposed to lie?” Cas wondered out loud. “When am I supposed to do that?”

“For cases and near death experiences,” Dean grumbled. 

“So, where are we going?” Bobby asked leaning his bearded chin in hand with a grumble of discomfort.

“Back to upstate New York,” Dean replied, turning on the car. “For one, we gotta get my baby back-“

“Why do you refer to your automobile as ‘baby’?” Cas asked suddenly. “It’s no blood-related child of yours.”

“Figure of speech, Cas,” Sam replied patiently, running a hand through his hair.

Dean could cut the tension in the air with a knife. “Dude, seriously, what are these angels doing that are making you guys so antsy?!” He gritted his teeth, frustrated. Not that he wanted to see their feathery asses, but it was driving him crazy being the only one unable to see them. 

“It’s not so much as what they’re doing…as much as the fact as there are four of us in the back seat,” Castiel explained. “I’ll just meet you there. What’s the address?”

“Dammit, I don’t remember, Cas!” Dean gripped the steering wheel in frustration. “You’re the one who angel-mojo-ed us out of there!”

Castiel gave him a brief, hard stare, before he disappeared.

Bobby heaved a sigh of relief, and shoved the invisible angels over, glad to have some room. “Better.”

“Four people could definitely fit in the seat back there, Bobby,” Dean grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah, we all know you love your angel, Dean, but the Trickster is sprawling out over both me and I’m guessin’ the Devil,” Bobby replied tartly.

Dean watched as Sam turned around to see the situation, “Yeah, he looks dead bored.” His forehead wrinkled as Lucifer said something, and immediately turned back to the front seat, a little flushed.

“What is it, Sammy?” Dean demanded.

“He’s just being annoying,” Sam muttered. “Not exactly pretty reminders of my past.”

“Would that be Cage-past, or past-past?” Dean asked, fixing his eyes on the road before them. 

“Cage past,” Sam replied softly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some insight and a little Samifer here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -3- So, as much as I hate watching Sam and Dean fight, it's what they do, and I hate when stories seem to forget that. I'm trying to stick to their personalities and speech patterns and everything here, so let me know if I miss something.

Sam watched as Dean stiffened, and turned to stare at him. “Wait, so you remember?!”

“How could I forget?” Sam asked bitterly.

“I know, right?” Lucifer sighed dramatically, leaning over on the back of Sam’s seat, “All that time we spent together, bunk buddy, and you didn’t remember a second of it? All the good time we had beating up Michael?”

“Sam, this is serious,” Bobby pulled him out of his daze with his so-often heard holding it together tone. “Do we have to send you back to that hospital or somethin’?”

“No!” Sam and Lucifer said in unison in a panicked voice.

“It’s so drab and boring there!” Lucifer moaned. “There was nothing to do except play the radio in your ear!”

“No, it’s like…I remember that they happened, but it’s not nightmare-like, you know what I mean?” Sam struggled to find the right words to explain it. “Anyway, before you ask Dean,” He turned to glare pointedly at his brother, who had opened his mouth to ask him a question. “I’m _not_ going to talk about it.”

“Sammy, c’mon, if anyone can relate-“

“It’d be you, yeah, I know, Dean, I heard you the first hundred times when I went _insane_ ,” Sam snapped, leaving a chilly silence in the air.

“Ouch, Sammy,” Lucifer winced, “That burned, it really did.”

“Shut up!” Sam finally gave in and whipped around to glare at Lucifer. “Shut up, Luci!”

“ _Luci?!_ ” Dean and Bobby squawked, and Lucifer merely clapped his hands, looking delighted.

“So you really do remember our friendship in the cage! Oh, Sammy, Sammy, I’ve missed you, my bunk buddy!” He really did sound very excited, “Verbal contact! Oh, this is great!”

What he didn’t realize, was that Bobby and Dean were now staring at him, eyes wide with alarm. “What? Do I have something in my teeth-“ He broke off, realization dawning. “Oh, I get it, you two morons can see me now, huh?” He let out a low whistle through his teeth, “I guess I’m screwed.”

“Damn straight you are!” Dean spat, pulling over somewhere in New Jersey. “I’m gonna punch your lights out, you son of a bitch!”

“And you’ll break all your knuckles when you do, and it won’t hurt me a bit,” Lucifer drawled, shrugging apologetically with a smirk. He turned to Sam. “Sammy, c’mon, don’t let them hurt me.”

“Sammy? _Sammy?_ Only I get to call him Sammy!” Dean climbed out of the car, slamming the door, and reached in and grabbed Lucifer, slamming him against the outside of the car. “Why the hell are you following my brother, Satan?!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes, “You’re so melodramatic. You and Michael really should have gotten along famously.”

“Answer the damn question!” Dean slammed Lucifer against the car again, eyes blazing.

Lucifer smirked and disappeared, reappearing behind Sam, who had gotten out of the car as well. He wrapped his arms across Sam’s chest and peered over his shoulder, which he was able to do, still having the guise of Nick as he did before. “Unlike you and Michael, Sammy and I _do_ get along. Quite well too, wouldn’t you say, bunk buddy?”

He nudged Sam, who shifted and didn’t say anything. “Aw, don’t be that way, if you don’t tell him, I will.”

“Sammy?” Dean choked out, staring his brother down. “You haven’t lied to me again…have you?”

Finally, Sam looked up, eyes burning with regret. “I…I didn’t lie…I just…never told you.”

“Like you ‘never told me’ about Ruby?! About the demon blood?! About _your fucking premonitions_?” Dean roared, furious now. “You tell me what the hell he’s talking about, or I swear to God I will kick your ass into next week!”

“I spent _centuries_ down there, Dean!” Sam shouted, finally, spurred into answering. “Centuries! With only the Devil as company!”

“Sammy, I thought I told you not to call me that,” Lucifer sighed, leaning one arm on his shoulder. “It’s horribly offensive.”

“What the hell, man?! How could you only hang around with that guy?!” Dean growled. “Michael and Adam were down there too!”

“Dude, Adam was long-since insane!” Sam spat, “I don’t even know how the hell I didn’t crack down there myself!”

“Because of the demon blood,” Lucifer explained, picking at his fingernails with immense boredom.

“When the hell were you gonna tell me all this, Sammy?! Huh?!” Dean glared at him, his anger simmering down to a gaze of infinite betrayal.

“Never, Dean, because trust me,” Sam scoffed, “You don’t want to know.”

Bobby could only watch, forgotten in the argument, but he turned to Dean, “Dean, maybe you should-“

“Back off?! Hell, no, Bobby! Not when I told him everything that I did in Hell!” Dean cut him off, turning back to his brother.

“And what a walk in the park it was getting that info,” Sam replied, folding his arms.

“You want to know what happened in the Cage, huh Dean?” Lucifer left Sam’s side, taking his arm off the taller man’s shoulder.

“Luci, stop, don’t-“

Lucifer snapped his fingers, and Sam’s tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. He smiled fondly at him, “Sammy, much as I love hearing you talk to me, let me explain to Dean _exactly_ what happened. Sit tight.” He turned back to Dean, walking up to the hunter slowly, a grin spreading across his face. “So, you want to know what happened between me and Sammy down in the Cage, huh?” He leaned in, “We were more than bunk buddies.”

Dean’s stare never left Sam’s mortified face. “Y…you what?” He managed, clearing his throat and looking back to meet Lucifer’s gaze.

“Your sweet little brother here,” Lucifer tossed his head back lazily to grin at the younger Winchester, who gritted his teeth in frustration, “Spent an eon as my bitch. In every sense of the word.” The next second, he reappeared in front of Sam, mouth quirking mischievously. He kissed Sam once, briefly, and turned back to Dean, folding his arms. “I think that ought to clear a few things up, huh?”

That was when Gabriel finally fluttered into their sight.


	5. An Agonizing Car Ride, Featuring Three Hunters and a Pair of Archangels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :I A bit of a filler, just to get some bickering in and to see where this case is going. There's going to be a shocking revelation in the next chapter. So, I admit, when I started this, I had no idea where it was going to go, but whilst melting in the sun, I figured it out c: It's all good, guys.

Well, at least he fluttered into Dean’s line of vision, anyway. The only way Sam knew he was there was that Lucifer went flying off in another direction, caught off guard from the attack by his invisible brother.

“What the…?! Gabriel, why the _fuck_ can I see you?!” Dean demanded, and Sam’s head swiveled in the direction Dean was staring, frustrated that he couldn’t see the Trickster.

Lucifer, coughing, reappeared next to Sam again. “Brother, I may have to reconsider you as my favorite,” He commented, dusting off his pants lazily. “That was really not too much fun. Not that it did much, but A for effort.”

Sam blinked and turned back to Dean, sighing. “Don’t we have a case to get to?”

Dean shifted, startled, “Uh…yeah. Yeah, New York, couple hours still.” He climbed back into the car, unusually quiet, and Sam got the message immediately. _We have to talk, ASAP._

Sam climbed in as well, shooting an apologetic look at Bobby, who was rolling his eyes at the whole conflict.

“Seriously, you two are already a walking soap opera, but throwin’ angels into the mix…” Bobby shook his head. “And now I have to share the backseat with the Devil and God’s Messenger. Whoop-de-doo.”

“Sorry, Bobby, but I feel like if Sammy sat back there, they’d both be raping him with their eyes.” Dean grumbled. “I’m not letting them near him.”

“Sorry, Dean. Much as I like you, it’s physically impossible to separate me from Sammy.” Lucifer said calmly, folding his arms behind his head casually.

“What?” Sam swiveled around to stare at him incredulously. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Why do you think Gabe here started throwing books around when Bobby wanted to stay home?” Lucifer clucked in disapproval, “Sammy, you really need to be more observant. We can’t go far from the person we materialized by. You’re stuck with me, Sam.”

Sam stared at him, then his face hardened into his famous bitchface, before he flopped back against the uncomfortable seats, eyes fixed ahead of them.

“How far can you go?” Dean asked, squirming at the silence.

Lucifer bit his lip for a moment, thinking. “Well, judging by how far Gabriel threw me, I’d say a mile at best.”

“Good, that’s far enough,” Dean gritted his teeth, “Though I really don’t like the idea of you sons of bitches sticking around so close to us all the friggin’ time.” He ducked his head, “Goddammit, Gabriel!”

“Well, I guess you’re going to have to deal, Dean, unless you want me taking off with Sammy here,” Lucifer smiled at Dean pleasantly when he felt the waves of anger rolling off of him.

Dean gripped the steering wheel tightly, shoulders squaring, “I fucking hate you.”

“Even though I’m not wanting to…what did you call it? ‘Wear your brother to prom’?” Lucifer held his hands up, “Oh, Dean, whatever can I do to win your approval?” He added sarcastically. “Seems you’ll never be happy.”

“Damn straight I won’t,” Dean cast a sidelong glance at Sam, “Everyone Sam’s been with has hurt him. I don’t want him to be hurt like that again.”

“Dean…” Sam murmured, slightly touched by his brother’s concern.

“Shut up, Sammy! No chick-flick moments allowed here,” Dean cut him off.

“So sweet, you could almost compress it into a lollipop for our Trickster friend here,” Lucifer sighed dramatically.

“I’m gettin’ real tired of sitting back here with these two idjits,” Bobby grumbled. “Shoulda asked to go with Cas. This is a pain in the ass.”

“Well, we’re almost here, Bobby, so deal for the next ten minutes,” Dean started, earning a whack on the back of the head from Bobby this time.

“Right, so what town is this?” Bobby asked, heaving a sigh.

“New Paltz, New York,” Sam read off the paper.

“Hey, haven’t we been there before?” Dean asked him, glancing over.

“Yeah, it was that haunted painting,” Sam agreed absently, reading over his notes. “So, get this, this says that New Paltz has one street, Huguenot Street, that’s the oldest inhabited street in the country.”

“ _And?_ ” Lucifer gestured for him to continue.

Sam shot him a glare, to which he returned by clutching his heart in mock pain. “Anyway,” Sam turned back, “It’s the center of a bunch of local legends…the Death Coach, the Dark Cloaked Axman and Dog-“

“Was the dog cloaked too?” Dean snorted, promptly earning himself a bitchface, courtesy of Sam. “Seriously, Sam, is there a point to that? I thought we were hunting ourselves a demonic gathering.”

Sam fixed his brother with an ‘are-you-kidding-me’ stare. “The location of the so-called demon society,” He said slowly, like he was introducing a new idea to a toddler, “is on this Huguenot Street.”

“Great choice of housing, demons,” Dean grumbled. “How do we know your pal Luci over there isn’t behind this?”

“Only Sam can call me Luci,” Lucifer mimicked his earlier words, smirking. “And I’ve been here this whole time, in case you haven’t noticed.” He fixed his gaze on Sam again, “Sammy noticed.”

Sam felt a shiver, even though he wasn’t even facing him, and he heard a small chuckle in the back of his mind of self-satisfaction at his reaction.

“Ugh, get a ro-“ Dean started, then ended that, “Actually, don’t, just _stop it._ ”

“And I was going to take your suggestion to heart,” Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Really, Dean, I don’t listen to you like your precious Castiel.”

Dean flushed angrily, but for once didn’t come up with a good comment, though apparently Gabriel did. Dean tipped his head for a moment before relaying Gabriel’s comment.

“You touch the Sasquatch and you’re dead.” Dean halted, grinning. “For once, I agree.”

Lucifer smirked. “Oh, but I already have…” He said softly.


	6. That Special Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I got in the groove, and wrote you guys another chapter! Huzzah! Might have to change the couples around so Destiel is in there too.

Upon arriving in New Paltz, it was far too late to actually interrogate anyone, or go investigating, for that matter, so they went ahead to check in the nearest motel.

“Alright, so there’s six of us, so we’re getting bunk buddies,” Dean said decisively, taking charge for once.

Lucifer immediately grabbed Sam, and Dean, for once being observant, noticed Sam wince.

“Lucifer does not get Sammy, I do.” He added.

Lucifer looked extremely disgruntled. “No, he’s been my bunk buddy for a million times your lifespan.”

“Yeah, and Dean’s my brother,” Sam growled.

Cas fluttered into view. “With all fairness, Lucifer,” He said his brother’s name with hesitation, almost like he didn’t want any familiarity with him at all. “We don’t sleep, and they do. They need it.”

Lucifer stared at him, then, much to everyone’s relief, he sighed, turning to Sam, “I don’t suppose you’d just, I dunno, volunteer to be my bunk buddy?”

Sam shot him a bitchface, and he sighed again, “Didn’t think so. Okay! Bonding time with Castiel! My good little rebellious brother!” He grabbed the younger angel and dragged him off, with as much protest as any of them had ever seen from Cas.

“So, I guess that leaves Bobby with Gabriel,” Dean glanced back and forth between the blank space that was Gabriel and Bobby, “Sorry, Bobby.”

“Yeah, well, as long as he ain’t keeping me up, I really don’t give a damn,” Bobby huffed, striding to the second room.

“Gabriel, quit hanging around here,” Dean said sharply, as apparently the archangel was sulking. His eyes followed the invisible form, before he turned back to Sam. “C’mon, Sammy, let’s get pie.”

Much as Sam wanted to protest his nickname, he was sadly getting used to it. He followed Dean to the picked-up Impala, and they drove off to the nearest diner- within a mile, and with pie.

Dean ordered pie for both of them, convinced that Sam wouldn’t want his so he could snatch it, but Sam wolfed it down as well, just as hungrily as he did.

“So,” Dean eyed his brother’s empty pie plate regretfully. “What’s all that stuff Lucifer keeps hinting at?”

Sam looked up, startled, “That?”

Dean rolled his eyes, “Yeah, Sam, that.”

Sam stared at his plate, shifting his hands uncomfortably. “Listen, Dean, I know you’re concerned and all-“

“If you know, then tell me what the hell happened to you down there!” Dean gritted his teeth, eyes focused on Sam.

Sam met his gaze quietly, with such a pained look that Dean almost said ‘you don’t have to’. Almost.

            “Like I said, Dean, I was down there for…ages,” Sam paused with a scoff, “I couldn’t really tell. I mean, I was stuck there between Lucifer and Michael, God’s hands, and we were all we had. So I can tell you, Michael’s a self-righteous ass, and Lucifer’s vain as hell.” _You hurt me so, Sammy._ Sam blocked off Lucifer’s link to his mind with practiced ease. “He got into my head down there, Dean. It was…like, a connection, or something.”

            Dean raised an eyebrow. “You had a connection…with the _Devil_?” This was getting ridiculous.

            “You have one with Cas,” Sam pointed out, watching with satisfaction as Dean flushed again.

            “Shut up, Sam,” He grumbled, glaring as his big little brother snickered at him. “Go on, already.”

            Sam’s face fell again, a grimace taking hold of his features. “Well, like I said. Connection. So, basically, we’re both in each other’s heads at all time. It’s hard to not ‘notice’ him.”

            Now Dean’s jaw dropped, “Wait, you’re ‘noticing’ noticing him? I thought you were into chicks!”

            “I thought the same about you, Dean,” Sam quipped, grinning at him.

            “Shut up, Sam! We’re talking about you, here!” Dean growled.

            “Right, right,” Sam chuckled, his gaze turning serious again. He kept attempting to turn the subject away, to just have a normal conversation with his brother, but fate didn’t seem to like giving that to them, right? “So, this connection, it connected our minds, and sort of…stuck our essences together.”

            “Essence, so like your soul and his grace? That’s why you hallucinated about him when your soul was pulled out again, right?” Dean asked quickly, putting the pieces together.

            Sam nodded, “Exactly. He left me this,” He pulled down his shirt over his heart, where there was a small starburst shape there.

            “Whoa, what’s that?” Dean stared at the rather large, pure white shape on his brother’s chest.

            “His handiwork,” Sam grunted, releasing his shirt. “He said I was his, and he was the Morningstar, so he drew that instead of…” He trailed off, eyes flitting briefly to Dean’s shoulder, “So he drew that, and bam! Sam Winchester, property of Lucifer.”

            Dean sat back in the booth with a thud. “Son of a bitch,” He muttered.

            “Yeah, tell me about it.” Sam grimaced. “He keeps trying to butt in on our conversation, by the way.”

            “If he didn’t break my hand, I would break his nose,” Dean grumbled, making Sam laugh outright for the first time in a while, startling Dean into laughing himself.

            “So, Dean…you don’t feel any presence in your mind at all?” Sam asked him, after their laughter had died down.

            “Nah, it must be you and your special ‘connections’,” Dean waggled his fingers at him like he was pretending to work magic, then his expression turned horrified, “Wait, Sam, you aren’t suggesting that I…that me and Cas-“

            “No, no!” Sam assured him with a quick lie. “Just trying to see if you had Gabriel lurking in your mind, since you can see him.”

            “Aw, hell no!” Dean groaned, “That would be a fucking nightmare!”

            “He’d make it into one,” Sam snorted. “He’s not very fond of you, apparently.”

            “Although he _is_ fond of you, apparently,” Dean stared at him thoughtfully. “Wonder why.”

            “Dunno,” Sam shrugged, drinking his tea to delay any answers.

            In any case, what he did _not_ need was two archangels chasing him around in circles. He didn’t even want one.


	7. Wake Up and Smell the Feathers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness of this chapter owo I've been a little busy. Sam has contact with Gabriel, now! Bu-ut how is everyone gonna react to his bond with the Devil (not in this chapter ono)

Unfortunately for our heroes, as angels do not sleep, or understand the necessity of it (well, Gabriel did, but let’s face it, he’s not very patient), they were woken up bright and early the next morning.

            “Dean.”

            Nothing.

            “Dean.”

            A low grumble from the pile of blankets that was Cas’s protégée.

            “ _Dean!_ ”

            “Jesus Christ, Cas!” Dean rolled over, rubbing his head with a yawn comparable to that of a hippo. “What the hell? I told you, at least four hours, man!”

            Cas was about to answer when a yell cut through their silence that scared Dean shitless and made Sam sit bolt upright, eyes wide.

            “ _Good morning,_ _Vietnam_ _!_ ” Lucifer had his hands cupped around his mouth, grinning crookedly.

            “Lucifer, I am going to rip your heart out, so help me, God!” Sam declared, thoroughly pissed.

            “I’m sure God would love to help,” Lucifer replied cheerfully, sitting on his bed. “Time to wake up, sleeping beauty.”

            “Ugh, will you stop that?” Dean demanded.

            “Aw, what’s the matter Dean? Am I making you uncomfortable?” Lucifer crooned, a mocking pout plastered on his face.

            “Hell, yeah you are. The Devil’s hitting on my little bro, why the hell wouldn’t I?!” Dean growled. “You’re lucky I’m tolerating you here at all!”

            “Dean, Dean, we’ve been through this,” Lucifer chided, leaning back on a still-groggy Sam. “I have to stay with Sammy at all times!”

            Dean opened his mouth, no doubt to shoot back a furious reply, when Bobby came in, putting his hat on his head roughly and gritting his teeth.

            “Alright, which one of you was yellin’ about Vietnam?!” Bobby demanded.

            “Oh, sorry, Bobby, were you there too?” Lucifer asked innocently. “Just my normal wake up call for my favorite bitch.”

            “You ass, I’m your only bitch on earth,” Sam grumbled, clearing his ear with his pinky.

            “Can we get this show on the road?” Bobby demanded, glancing behind him at the seething Gabriel. “Archangel over here ain’t looking to happy.”

            “That’s because he’s got a soft spot for Sammy,” Lucifer said matter-of-factly, resting an elbow on Sam’s shoulder. “Who wouldn’t?”

            “I don’t understand that terminology,” Cas frowned, glancing at Lucifer.

            “Means a weakness,” Dean grumbled. “Now that I think about it, I think all of us have a soft spot for Sammy.”

            “Would you all stop calling me Sammy?” Sam threw his hands up, exasperated. “It’s _Sam_!”

            “Can we get crackin’ on this case? I don’t like leavin’ the phones with Garth for too long,” Bobby grumbled, sitting at the table.

            “Yeah, definitely,” Sam replied hastily, pushing Lucifer away and going to sit across from Bobby. He flipped open his laptop and turned it on. While it was loading, he glanced at Cas.

            “Cas, did you notice anything weird anywhere on Huguenot Street when you looked?”

            Cas looked startled. “How did you know I looked?”

            “You always do, Cas. When we say ‘down boy’, you take off again,” Dean rolled his eyes, flipping back the covers and swinging out of bed.

            “Not that we don’t appreciate it,” Sam quickly finished, catching Bobby’s glance as the older hunter went to admonish Dean about thanking him. “You really should rest sometimes, though.”

            The younger angel was silent for a moment, “Alright,” He said grudgingly. “I saw nothing out of the ordinary, though I could sense a vague demonic aura at one of the houses.”

            “They’re leading you on,” Lucifer said immediately, sprawling out on Sam’s bed and basking in the warm that was still there. “They wouldn’t make their presence that easily known. Castiel, you’re slo-ow.”

            Cas flinched, and Sam grimaced in sympathy for the angel (not the devil). “We know, Lucifer. We’re just getting all the facts out, so if you don’t mind-“

            “Shutting up for a few minutes, that’d be real nice,” Dean cut his brother off, running a hand through his hair.

            “Only if you do,” Lucifer replied, tipping his head slightly toward Dean, whose mouth was immediately shut. “Better.”

            Sam and Bobby exchanged a look, and despite their concern for Dean, they quickly decided that if Dean was quiet, Lucifer would be quiet, so it would be best to leave him like that for now. Dean stared at them incredulously as they continued discussing the case.

            “I dunno, Sam, this ain’t adding up real well,” Bobby scratched his beard, heaving a sigh. “A trap, sure, demons do that all the time, but I can’t imagine what sort of thing would have the power to keep the demons under control, other than our friendly neighborhood Devil over there,” He jerked his thumb at Lucifer, who opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again when Sam shot a glare at him.

            “A trickster would be powerful enough,” Sam said thoughtfully, earning a flick from invisible fingers that he could only assume was Gabriel. “But I doubt any of them would align themselves with demons for any purpose.”

            _Nobody would **align** themselves with demons, Samsquatch._

Sam’s head shot up, and he looked around wildly. “What the hell…?”

            “Gabriel,” Lucifer said pleasantly, “About time you showed your ugly mug.”

            _Missed you too, bro…aw, so Sammy and Cassy can’t see me? That’s upsetting._

“I can hear you,” Sam muttered. “Gabriel, do you know what it is?”

            _‘Course I do, Samsquatch, it’s a necromancer. Took you long enough to ask._

            “A necromancer, Jesus,” Dean choked, finally able to talk again. “I don’t think we’ve come across them before.”

            “Yeah…” Sam scrolled down Google on his laptop, eyes scanning the results quickly. “Lore has it that they summon spirits to do their bidding, usually dark magic. And get this, they use it to predict the future.”

            “So, this guy summoned _demons_ instead?” Dean scoffed. “Who the hell in their right mind would do that?”

            “Clearly this necromancer ain’t in their right mind, idjit,” Bobby drawled, flipping open his book. “Let’s see if we can figure out what this son of a bitch is up to.”


End file.
